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After a lot of thought, I've decided to take a break from blogging for the foreseeable future. With my little C creeping its way back into my life and possible long term treatment now, I need to take a couple of things off my plate for the time being, and the blog is going to be one of those things. As it is, it felt like it was becoming more of a chore than anything else. I need my reading time to be more enjoyable right now, more of the escape that I really need, and what I don't need is the little voice in the back of my head telling me how many reviews I'm behind and trying to come up with what I need to say about the book.

I simply want to read.

I'll more than likely occasionally post on here what I've been reading, and if there is something that really blows my mind, I'll probably have more to say about it and may write up a proper post, but for right now, things are going to be very quiet around here.

As always, happy reading!

2017 edit

I will continue to blog according to my health and ability, and connecting my posts thru Goodreads, so please be patient if things get quiet around here again this year.

2017 edit #2

I am happy to report that my bone marrow transplant was a success and that I'm feeling more like myself everyday. That said, I'm going to try to start blogging a little more frequently, but please bare with me as I still continue to recover.

So, late last year, DC Comics decided that they were going to reboot their entire line of comics, starting all the series over with new #1 issues, paring the lines offered down to 52 titles, giving some characters new origins while only updating other characters origins a little. (I'm still not sure if the new titles and characters in their new universe "know" about the old universe or not; that all seems rather vague.) They called this The New 52, and it was kind of a bid deal at the time. Their new flagship title for the entire lineup was going to be Justice League, written by Geoff Johns with art handled by Jim Lee. DC was so sure of the power of this one book that it was the only title released that week from their company. Of course, I got all wrapped up in the hype and was down at my local comic shop at the midnight release for the title. I got home, read it, and after all the hype and excitement was left with a decidedly "Meh!" feeling over the whole thing.

It reads like a big, blockbuster summer movie. Lots of explosions! Lots of excitement! It's fast paced! There's a lot of visual coolness to the whole thing. And... that's about it. I decided to wait to pick up the rest of the series until they released it as a collected edition, and I don't know that the "Meh!" feeling ever left as I read the first six issues, which is all basically about how Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Superman, Aquaman, Flash, and Cyborg all joined forces to become the Justice League. That first issue was all about Batman and Green Lantern arguing back and forth, with the subsequent issues bringing the other heroes into the group one by one, to fight their big nemesis, Darkseid, whom they seem to be able to beat without much struggle, just a lot of explosions! And excitement! And fast pacing! And it looks so cool! And... that's about it.

Now, don't get me wrong. Jim Lee's artwork is, as usual, stunning. But he does fall into some of his same old patterns, where the guys all kinda look the same, and Wonder Woman was amazing impossible proportions, but he's still the best artist in the business as far as I'm concerned. Geoff Johns writing also isn't bad, but it isn't great either. For their flagship title, I guess I was just expecting something more. Will I pick up the next collected edition? Probably, but really it would really be just for Jim Lee's artwork more than anything else. If the next story is still so much flash and not enough substance, I think I may be passing on this after Jim Lee has finished his run on the title.

Obviously, it's worth reading if you're interested in The New 52 or are a big DC fan (which I'm not - I'm a Marvel guy, really). Just make sure you pop yourself some popcorn, get a big soda, and check your brain at the door.